Children of War
by Error 401 - Talent Not Found
Summary: My take on Origins.
1. Aerrow

**Children of War  
**

Written By: Error 401 - Talent Not Found

Dedicated to Nerd Corps

Chapter 1: Aerrow

Chapter dedicated to all the Naruto fans...as this has a sort of Naruto-istic tone to it

* * *

This is written in a style that differs from my usual one, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. It was originally one long and giant oneshot but I decided to divide it into various chapters focusing on each of the characters and eventually the different terras...you'll understand.

There are a few OCs in this story, but they're not important, so don't pay too much attention to them. Hope you like my sort of Naruto-fied rendition of their actual meeting heh heh. Why? Because I like the idea of them being grieving war-orphans. **That being said, you do not have to know Naruto to read this.**

For context, in my mind, Cyclonia defeated the Sky Knights a decade ago and held power for 4 years, but control begins to slip because of Cyclonian affairs, which is where the Sky Knights begin to liberate the terras again explaining why Cyclonia doesn't have total control because Cyclonis suddenly has to step up to lead the kingdom (I'm going to write a fic about this, when I do, I will link all you lovely people)

I briefly break the fourth wall...because they do that in the actual series quite often, so I felt obligated to do it at least once.

Enjoy!

* * *

Growing up as war orphans and living in the midst of the war that took family and friends makes it hard to understand the concept of protection and alliance- especially in a war brought on by betrayal. Still, as children, the innocent perspective of wonder and joy- the sheer admiration of those who protected them from harm is enough to make them forgive, to hope, to think that maybe, just maybe, the enemy had a reason, but as children of war, learning the reality of the world comes far before compassion.

They say that before the age of five, a child learns the most, that a child is the most impressionable...and perhaps it is that which taught the young ones how to survive.

"Father, you'll return, right? Not like mother?"

The man returned a nod to his son before turning to leave.

The boy's expression changed to worry and he ran forward and latched onto his father, "I love you."

"I love you too, Aerrow."

A fond ruffling of hair and the door clicked shut, the three year old climbed to the windowsill.

"Bye father."

The boy sat and worked through the book his father had given him, but he soon grew restless and found himself climbing the shelf for the model plane that sat high above his reach. His father was out, he wouldn't know that he had been playing and not working.

For hours the boy played Sky Knight, figuratively zooming in his model plane and defeating invisible enemies or chairs and desks. What little Sky Fu he knew was executed in mild clumsiness because of his age. The boy did not play long however, soon he returned to his book and continued to meticulously fill in the rows of letters and numbers carefully outlined for him.

There was a knock at the door.

"Father?"

The man at the door was not he, but it was a familiar face; the face of someone that the young boy was terrified of seeing, not out of fear, or disgust, not because the person was a stranger, or because he was unkind. No, the appearance of this man meant one thing only.

His father would not be returning.

"No! No!"

The boy ran from the door.

"No! No! No!"

"Aerrow, please! You have to come with us!"

"I won't! Father will come back! Father has to!"

He did not know when he started crying. He didn't like crying. His father was strong and his father never cried. He was strong too, so he couldn't cry, he wouldn't. But he was and his father was gone.

His father was gone.

He didn't know how long he was hiding in the cupboard, but when he came out, the man was sitting at the table.

"Ready?"

The boy nodded as the man handed him a bag of his belongings.

"Wait," the boy clambered back to his desk and grabbed the book and pencils, "let's go."

The man wrapped an arm around the boy and lifted him.

"I'm sorry, Aerrow."

The child slowly fell into a fitful sleep.

When he awoke he was in front of a grey and black building covered in windows and pitiful chalk drawings on the bottom half of one of the walls. A lone set of swings stood beside the building.

The man set him down gently and brought him inside.

"Do you want to share something with us?"

The boy looked around at the various faces that had turned to face him at the woman's remark.

"My name's Aerrow and my father was a Sky Knight."

There was silence, then, "wow, cool!" and general excited chatter.

"Which squadron was he with? Who was he?"

"I-I don't know...he never told me."

And if not for the disappointed expressions on the children's faces, he would have spent a minute mourning the fact that he never knew which squadron his father was with and that he never would, but his father had taught him to ensure that the people around him were content, that fame and glory meant nothing if there were those who were oppressed or unhappy. So instead he said, "but I do know he was one of the best!"

And the other children seemed satisfied with that and in turn, pulled him into the room and got him to play with them.

For the next year he lived at the orphanage and while the others played he would study and train. He would practice, but because the orphanage had no real teachers or soldiers, there was little his four year old mind could do alone. For a year, he worked on new friendships, worked on what his father had taught him. Study hard, see the good in people, find those he could trust, and protect those who needed to be protected. All the while, he made friends, played Sky Knight, and taught and practiced with them the simple movements of Sky Fu.

_Keep your leg straighter, look up, loosen your wrist..._

_Yes father..._

It was quite lucky there was an orphanage for him to live at. The Cyclonians had won the war and their reign was stretching farther and farther. What used to be prosperous land had become war torn, impoverished. There were orphans everywhere, but no one could spare the expense any longer.

Not two months since his arrival at the orphanage, a storm hit the terra, mass flooding. The children were kept inside for their safet-

"Asha's missing!"

"Where did you see her last?"

"I don't know, we were playing hide and seek, but she never came back."

Behind them, one of the nurses called out, "don't worry, you children get on upstairs, I'll find her," and walked into the blowing storm.

Hours passed and she did not return.

* * *

Review?


	2. Animal

**Children of War  
**

Written By: Error 401 - Talent Not Found

Dedicated to Nerd Corps

Chapter 2: Animal

Chapter dedicated to you, because no one else is reading this. :/

* * *

When the storm passed, the children and staff left their confinement to clean the wreckage that followed the flood. The river was still quite high so they steered clear of it. Broken branches and stones littered the now muddy field and as Aerrow helped collect the debris, he heard a cry in the distance. Instantly, he followed it to the river. He had expected to see Asha or the nurse, but the cry was bestial. Upon closer inspection, he found a furry animal almost drowning in the lake. Driven by some unknown force, he jumped in.

He had rescued the animal, but the flow of the river began to quicken and he was swept further downstream. When the current had slowed considerably, the boy climbed out of the water with the animal on his back. Grateful for the rescue, the animal held the boy in great companionship, however, their worries were not over. As he and his new friend wandered farther away from the river and closer to the orphanage, something white caught his eye.

Covered slightly in foliage were fingers, marble white, translucent. Apprehensive, he continued to walk closer until he was around and behind the bushes. There were two. A woman, the nurse curled around the body of a smaller, younger female. They had drowned. Perhaps it was because he didn't know how to react, that the boy did not react. He stood silent, basking in the protection that the orphanage had given him and all the other children- something that had gone when his father had died, and for some profound reason he felt gratified. They had not died alone.

Not like his mother.

And if not for the deaths that had plagued his early childhood, he could have thought they were sleeping, so he felt it appropriate to crouch by the two and quietly whisper, "may your parents bring you sweet dreams."

The deaths were mourned briefly by the orphanage, two names among the thousands who had died in the war and were still dying while resisting the Cyclonians.

Aerrow found that his new friend was a stray, but domesticated. And while the race of his friend did not matter to him, the orphanage did not allow animals within its facilities. So he snuck scraps of his food for his friend who looked far too skeletal to have eaten in weeks and kept a box in the base of his cabinet for the days that it rained or was cold so his friend would be safe from harm. Together, they explored the terra, walking through the market and exploring the various terrains.

It was about a year into his life at the orphanage when it was brought to an abrupt end. It was known to him that the terra he lived on had no Sky Knight- at least, not anymore, so it wasn't a surprise for a Cyclonian skimmer to fly over their terra once in a while. However, a whole fleet of Cyclonians was unheard of.

Within the orphanage, it was time for mid-day cleaning and not one member was outside to see the cloud of sky rides descend upon the terra. As the children went about their chores, Radarr climbed in through the window.

Screeches of warning. There was danger approaching. The animal then jumped out of the building and ran off into the forest with the boy following close behind ("No, it's not safe out there!"). The rest of the children were herded to the dining hall. As the children were still scrambling for cover, they dropped the charges.

Explosives fell from the sky, Talons descended on skimmers, and blasters struck houses, market stands, and civilians alike. One of the first buildings to be hit was the orphanage, killing everyone within it.

Just before the building was torn apart, the boy had caught up with his companion and they hid themselves deep in the forested area of the terra. From his vantage point, the boy could see people being captured and taken, murdered, blown to unrecognisable degrees, and the blazing red symbol of the Cyclonians. His companion pulled on his shirt, alerting him of the Talons travelling closer. They ran deeper into the forest.

For days the boy and the animal wandered through the forest in fear and without destination. They travelled through fatigue until they came across the river. Its current was much too fast, but the boy was much too thirsty to care. Slipping and swept up by the water, the boy and the animal were driven downstream and further down the terra.

When they escaped the river, they had been moved to the outskirts of town with stone houses and wooden shacks. It was obvious that the Talons had personally salvaged the place.

Tired, cold, hungry, and desperate for shelter, the boy and the animal started down the now abandoned and dusty streets.

* * *

Review?


	3. The Other Boy

**Children of War  
**

Written By: Error 401 - Talent Not Found

Dedicated to Nerd Corps

Chapter 3: The Other Boy

Chapter dedicated to the 32 people who read but didn't review, so in other words, all the secret lurkers of this story- I know you're out there

* * *

The boy wandered down the sand path, his companion scampering just a ways in front of him. Deeper into the town, there was silence, the air hung still, thick with a metallic tang. Deeper still and the scent intensified. The animal jumped down from his shoulder and gestured at one of the nearby houses.

It was made of stone and its door stood ajar. Drawn by instinct, the boy continued toward the house. Knocking once, he entered. A whisper of "Hello?" and the careful cleaning of his worn shoes, so as to not track mud through the house, before stepping into the hall. The stool had been overturned, potted plants shattered. He noticed the trail of red left-foot prints stemming from a room further into the house and out the door. He followed them backwards. Radarr jumped onto his shoulder.

He ventured deeper into the house. Here, there were more splashes of red almost artistically smeared on the wall. Compelled by an unknown force, he continued his walk and stopped short in the doorway of the kitchen. The room was in complete disarray and in the centre of the room, as if greeting him, was a corpse in all its dripping, gaping glory. The animal tightened its grip on his shoulder. Aerrow did not show any indication of discomfort, rather he seemed calm. He had seen it before, the dismembered limbs flying through the air, the festering heads that stood separate from their bodies, the serene looks of a woman and a girl...He knew how to react.

It was not to.

He took a moment to survey the room. The man had died alone. He cautiously walked up to the body and leaned over it, carefully whispering, "may your parents bring you sweet dreams."

Straightening, the boy began searching for supplies. What useful items and food had been taken by the Cyclonian troop. Deciding to try his luck in another room, he entered one of the bedrooms; again, politely knocking once on the door.

It was much smaller than he had expected, but proportionately so in regards to the furniture that the room held. Then he noticed the model planes that rested on the shelves and the toy crossbow that sat on the dresser. The room must have belonged to a boy his age. There was no sign of wreckage so deep into the house, meaning the Talons had not ventured so far in...if that was the case, where was the boy?

Pushing the thought out of his mind for a brief moment, he grabbed one of the pillowcases off of the bed and began to riffle through the other boy's belongings. He took several sets of clothing and the crossbow and shoved them in the pillowcase. Then, on a whim, he took one of the sheets from the bed and dragged it behind him back to the kitchen. He laid the cloth on the man, as he had seen it done at the orphanage when they had discovered the nurse and Asha.

After he had retrieved some crystals from the stove, which had earned him a nasty burn and a half loaf of bread, he became aware of a quiet whimpering coming from one of the cupboards.

Upon opening the correct one, he discovered a child huddled inside, the other boy, quashed between the pipes and the wall. So the man hadn't died alone after all. It took quite a lot of encouragement to get the boy to come out from under the sink. The Talons could be back soon, they had to leave.

_Protect those who need to be protected._

With the pillowcase in one hand and over his shoulder, the animal on the other, and the other boy's hand clasping his free hand, the three started on their journey to Atmosia, where they would hopefully find refuge.

They travelled for a day, past where the cobblestone path broke into green grass and onward until they were in the depths of the forest. When they finally stopped, exhaustion and hunger had taken the three. The half loaf of bread was split in half once again, one of the halves stowed back in the pillowcase. The remaining bit was split into thirds, which the three friends devoured vigorously.

They survived starvation for a week.

On the seventh day of their travels, they came to the edge of the terra, a cliff overlooking a misty abyss, dark like the wastelands. The had not planned for this, somewhere in the flurry and pressure of surviving and evading capture, they had forgotten that they remained grounded on their ravaged and forsaken terra. Death seemed inevitable.

Ahead, they saw red, though it was not just the dried bloodstains of a battle past, it was the smooth red fabric of the Talon uniform. For a moment, the boys remained stock still, but after a few long seconds, they realised the man was dead.

They scoured his body for useful items, food, anything; all they discovered in the pockets were an empty medical kit, a short length of rope, and a pack of crackers. However, their real treasure was found in the pack the man was wearing. A parachute, unopened. It would be their ticket off the terra. While it could mean a landing in the wastelands, it was better than remaining and being captured or starving to death. There was one problem though.

There was only one parachute.

Arguably, they were still children and the chute would be large enough to carry the three of them, especially considering how starved they were. The parachute was designed in a backpack format and its span was large enough to fit both boys side by side. They would need to jump from a high altitude and the tree overlooking the edge of the cliff would serve just that purpose; they climbed it, leaving the pillowcase and the remainder of their belongings on the ground.

The parachute was heavy and by the time the three had stopped to rest on one of the thicker boughs of the tree, they found themselves exhausted once again. They had a long trip ahead of them. Each boy stuck an arm through one arm hole and stretched an arm over the other's shoulder. Radarr sat comfortably on their arms and between their heads. The rope was looped through the two arm straps and around the front of the three, effectively securing them to the parachute.

Jokingly, "and in case anything happens, our last meal." Aerrow pulled the crackers out with a flourish.

Finn just smiled back.

The rush of free falling to the ground was terrifying, but the slow drifting of the parachute off into the distance was calming and lulled them to sleep. They had avoided the wastelands, quietly across the sky and far beyond the land of oppression they had escaped from.

They drifted for a few days, talking to each other to pass the time, trying to see shapes in the clouds and admiring the view of the Atmos. It was the last time they would ever see Terra Nimbus.

The terra they had floated to had Sky Knights, a squadron that noticed the Cyclonian parachute drifting toward them.

They opened fire.

* * *

Review?


	4. The Girl

**Children of War  
**

Written By: Error 401 - Talent Not Found

Dedicated to Nerd Corps

Chapter 4: The Girl

Chapter dedicated to secret lurkers; I know you're out there

* * *

The boys were awake at the time and they could see the blasts that narrowly missed them, but it felt as surreal as it sounded. They did not react, but whether it was because they did not know how to, that it was too surreal, or because starvation had sapped the last of their strength from them, they did not know. As they neared the ground, a final shot was sent in their direction ("hold your fire, it's two kids!"), tearing the parachute and sending the two boys and their companion tumbling down the hill and stopping in front of a girl with green eyes. She was slightly shocked at the grubby and malnourished boys that had rolled to a light stop in front of her, unconscious, and she immediately got them medical attention.

They spent a day unconscious, a week in the infirmary, and three months under medical surveillance. They had not made it to Atmosia, but they had made it somewhere safe. They had arrived at the Sky Knight Academy of all places. Somewhere they could learn to fend for themselves. Somewhere that would not be attacked by the Cyclonians. They had a Sky Knight squadron here and an academy full of Sky Knights in training. They could not be harmed. They would learn. They would train.

But the school was not a charity case.

There was tuition to be paid, and for two orphans and their..._pet_, tuition seemed impossible. It was not an act of greed, but Atmos was becoming more and more impoverished, the funding needed to be upheld.

That is when they were enlisted to help around the school to pay for their tutelage. They agreed to it wholeheartedly as well. A myriad of work cleaning, organising, and helping in the kitchen. They were children, so they were not given tasks that were labour intensive, but it was necessary work nonetheless.

When the boys were finally let out of the infirmary after that first week, they were placed in class together, learning theory, about crystals, and the practical aspects of being a Sky Knight. They remained there for two years. To Finn's delight, he excelled at marksmanship, and to Aerrow's pleasure, he found his place in sparring and flying. They were trained well with practice scenarios and qualified teachers.

During down time, when the two boys weren't working for the school, they would be talking in the dorms. Alone, Finn would be shooting or setting up some sort of prank- small ones that didn't do much harm, but were funny nonetheless; Aerrow would either be training, or in the library reading with Radarr on his shoulder.

The first book he picked up had a deep green cover and inked pictures every so often. It had a lot of words that he couldn't yet understand, so he kept a dictionary nearby. The first time he opened the book, the faded memory of a printing book surfaced, but he pushed the thought away. The title was _Peter and Wendy_. It spoke of a boy who had the ability to fly without wings and without a skimmer or ship. He was fascinated by the book and often returned to the library to read it.

Usually the library was only occupied by senior students, but there were juniors scattered here or there. One of the recurring people Aerrow seemed to see was a petite girl, but she was always busy with her books, so he never really knew what she looked like. On one occasion, near the end of the year when the library was considerably fuller than usual with students studying, he sat in the seat next to her, of course after he asked.

They didn't really converse as the boy was engulfed in his book and the girl was busy with whatever work she was doing, but he noticed that she always left the library with stacks of books.

The same girl also appeared for sparring practice on down time. Though her stature was slightly shorter than average, her form was excellent. As he and the girl were the only ones still without a partner, they did the logical thing. He was quite impressed. It happened only once though and the two remained at a formal distance.

The rest of the term passed without incident and the results of their testing had finally arrived. Of their year, the overall highest scorer turned out to be Aerrow. Finn had accomplished something too, he had scored the highest overall in marksmanship, making up for the few lost points in his theory classes. A girl's name they did not recognise had gotten the highest in academics.

Because Terra Mesa's Sky Knight squadron was short one person, the highest scoring student of the graduating senior class would train for an additional two months and join the ranks. So at the age of 12, that same green-eyed girl from their first encounter became part of a Sky Knight squadron.

With testing out of the way, the boys got free run at break. It was a fine break indeed.

Then the ambush began.

Two years since their arrival and the terra was under attack. The Sky Knights put up a good fight, but they were defeated by sheer numbers. Raptors, slashing through their defenses, Talons destroying the school, crushing it downward into its foundation. Immediately, the boys grabbed weapons and helped fight. But it became clear they were losing and the boys retreated into the school for more ammunition. They ran into two girls on the way there. One was the newly appointed Sky Knight with green eyes, and the other was the studious and combat proficient girl.

"Take the gliders and get out of here. We're evacuating everyone now."

"What about you?"

"Exactly, we can't just run off when our terra's under attack!"

"I'm a Sky Knight, I'll be fine. Now hurry before I throw you off the cliff." She shoved three metal gliders into their arms and ran off to find others.

They were taught to pack emergency kits in one of their classes and it was mandatory that each student have one. So, in their situation, their kits were useful. After they had retrieved them, they bolted out of the building and ran to the edge of the terra. There were other students jumping from the side and gliding off into the distance.

The two boys, the girl, and the animal briefly outlined a path they would follow for their journey and it was then inked with a pen on the back of their hands. They would go the journey together and find safety.

With one last look at the battle behind them and a salute to the girl riding a purple-toned skimmer, they jumped.

Every terra they came across was a battlefield littered with corpses, sometimes abandoned, sometimes crawling with Talons.

They flew for hours on those metal wings, doing their best to hide their presence in thick clouds or lower than ground level to avoid being detected and captured. Ahead of them, there was a little terra, Cyclonians had raided it too, but for the moment, it looked as if they had left. The four travellers decided to rest here before continuing.

The travelled for days. Their efforts soon began to prove fruitless as all land seemed to be a myriad of olive green and rusty red. The smell of sweat, engine oil, iron, and rotting flesh burned into their memories.

At last, on the fifth day, they saw green, but it was not stained and dark like the uniforms of a Talon- it was lush and fresh. The boughs of an enormous willow tree covered the northernmost end of the terra, four or five piles of the wreckage of old houses remained. There were no bodies. No talons.

It was a recently unnamed terra.

It was liberated land.

Maybe it was because of circumstance that the first thought that came to Aerrow's mind was _Peter and Wendy_. The book about a land for children.

Neverland.

This was their Neverland; a place for them. He turned to the others with Radarr on his shoulder.

"Welcome, to Neverlandis."

Finn and Piper smiled in return, relieved.

They needed rest, but first, they climbed the boughs of the tree and tied a stiff stick to one of the higher branches. And on that stick flew the Sky Knight insignia, proud and free. They decided to sleep in shifts, but not long after, fatigue stole over all of them and they fell fast asleep under the vast leaves of the tree.

When they awoke, they were no longer on the terra.

* * *

Review?


End file.
